I saw this yesterday, too. What a screwed up situation and solution. I seem to remember something about two species in the same niche: one has to go according to the laws of nature and that being the "weaker" one. Could it be that folks really don't know enough about these two species to really understand what is going on? Naw, government agencies always have the right solution. And we're paying for this crap. Reminds me of the one of the dusky seaside sparrow subspecies that was down to a couple of males. Millions got spent trying to "back bred" the species using female sparrows of other subspecies. That didn't work well, either.

I like the ESA. I think it is a great tool. But like any tool, if used by an idiot, it doesn't always work that well. I wish I had a better solution, but human activity has set the stage for this kind of madness.

I actually think there are other places where aggressively managing a newly resident species would be a good idea. Say...sea lions at the locks and Bonneville? Caspian Turns on a mud pile made from dredging a river. Etc...

yet another complete "Charlie-foxtrot" idea from the "good idea fairy". the arrogance of these morons is beyond belief, and in this case, George Carlin was right; "Let them go gracefully". Good grief, I love it: "SAVE THE SPOTTED OWL-SHOOT ANOTHER OWL". Better yet, how about shooting the "good idea fairy" instead?

I'm not so sure I agree, I think the ESA is counter productive. Species have come and gone since time began. The ESA has rendered peoples property rights useless in too many instances and restricted use of resources and jobs...just ask a logger and the communities that used to thrive there . If the spotted owl vanished today would the world stop spinning?

99% of all species that have been here have gone extinct. I agree, Rick; what's so special about an owl? It's not like there's NOT another owl waiting in the wings (as it were). And you're spot-on about the elimination of most logging, especially on California's north coast. Towns like Weott, Rio Del, Scotia, and Orrick are almost wiped out. People's lives destroyed, their investment in their homes gone, their careers evaporated, their schools closed, all gone. And don't anyone give me this bullshit about "tourism" either. There ISN'T any there. And there never will be-too far from any large population centers, and difficult to get there.

The Wildlife Biologists that ran the spotted owl studies since mid-1980's really deserve credit for a MOST remarkable achievement. At the beginning of the issue it was always whether the spotted owl would survive or that sector of the timber industry dependent on public timber.

However, the award really is for DOING BOTH!! They threw 30,000 high paying jobs down the toilet AND ran the spotted owl into extinction.

BTW the issue of Barred Owls and Spotted Owls was raised by "minority biologists" in the early 1990's and was ignored. Barred owls are NOT native to the northwest and are an invasive species that migrated in from the mid-west.

No....the migration was dependent on human settlement in the northern plains. That what a biologist told me.

So hitching a ride on farms, how is that different than hitching a ride on boat??

When I worked on the Colville Forest Plan the wildlife biologist insisted on setting aside 200,000 acres for the Barred Owl as habitat. I transfer to the Wenatchee and we write a document that recomends taking steps to "deal with the Barred Owl" as they pose a threat to the Spotted Owl.

I think Aldo Leopold said it best...."you want to save all the pieces". Habitat changes and species will ebb and flow across the landscape. Extinction is forever. You cannot get it back once you lose it.

Spotted Owl's are unique enough that they should be saved for THEIR sake. My sense is that a lot of environmental types don't care now.....since their motive was to eliminate timber harvest on Forest Service land.

The Spotted Owl was a real mess. My minority opinion is that the spotted owl primary habitat is eastern Washington and northern California. However, all the studies started in western Oregon and Washington so everybody assumed that was their primary range. The first Spotted Owl in Washington was found at Blewett Pass at the turn of the century. The "expert" Federal scientists really paid little attention to owls in eastern Washington and California.

Gary, as for playing GOD. That horse ran out of the barn a century ago. The reason the Federal Forest lands are such a battlefield for endangered species is they are the last major ecosystems in the United States to be affected by the hands of man.

Most lands in the United States are NOT even close to the original ecosystems. In many cases, we do not even know what we lost.